


Trading Harsh Bars for a Warm Embrace

by Phandabbydosey



Series: Trading [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Neko Dan, Neko!Dan, Phil is good, Rescue, phil saves dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 04:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9368423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phandabbydosey/pseuds/Phandabbydosey
Summary: Phil works for a charity that rescues nekos from the widespread cruelty still rampant despite the laws forbidding it. After saving a certain, brown haired neko from horrible conditions, Phil’s reminded of just why he does his job.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is phandabbydosey if you'd rather read this over there!

Phil bit his lip and shuffled his feet nervously, waiting for the police to come out of the dilapidated farm house. He hated this part, knowing that there were nekos that were in pain and suffering but that he had to wait. It made sense - most people they were apprehending would not be afraid to get violent - but that didn’t stop Phil getting antsy.

Phil worked for the NSPN, the National Society for the Protection of Nekos, a nationwide organisation working diligently to eradicate the exploitation of and cruelty committed against nekos. It had only been within the last five years that it had been declared illegal to mistreat nekos or sell them without a license, meaning all of the grotty auction houses and brutal ‘training camps’ were required by law to close down. Of course, some people still saw nekos as lesser than animals even and some just didn’t care about the changes to the law. So, people like Phil spent their time rescuing nekos, some of whom were facing disgusting barbarity.

Phil knew today would be a bad one. They’d been tipped off about a neko farm located on in this barn and Phil knew from experience that neko farms were always the worst. They mass bred nekos to sell, completely disregarding the nekos needs and health in favour of making maximum profit. They were always filthy and cramped and there were always _so many_ nekos in there. The sounds of them crying and wailing and yowling always echoed in Phil’s head for days after. Unfortunately, people still bought from neko farms because the nekos were cheap and unregistered, meaning no officials would know if they were mistreated.

After what seemed like hours, the team of policemen dragged out the suspects in handcuffs, one of the throwing his thumb over his shoulder to let to let Phil and his team know it was safe to go in. Phil followed his colleagues over to the barn and took a deep breath before walking through the huge doors.

He gasped quietly when he saw the conditions inside the barn. The foul smell of unwashed bodies and pens hit him so hard he almost gagged. There had to be around fifty tiny pens filling the barn, each one housing at least two underfed nekos. Phil had never seen a neko farm so big and wondered how on earth it had stayed off the radar for so long.

After exchanging a despairing look with one of his team, Phil took a deep breath and got to work.

 

————————————-

 

Phil had never wanted to finish a job as much as he did that day. He was feeling sick after carrying so many filthy, underweight and terrified nekos out of the stuffy barn and now he just wanted to go home. Some of them were only children, the way their tails latched onto Phil desperately for safety when he lifted them off the disgusting floor making his heart ache painfully.

He was just heading in for what would hopefully be the last time, walking right to the back of the barn, when he passed an old trap door. He didn’t think anything of it, but paused when he heard a strange noise. It sounded like a neko yowling.

Confusion and concern furrowing his brow, Phil bent down and levered the slightly rotten door open to reveal a dark basement. He pulled out his torch and climbed down into it, the damp air irritating his lungs and making him cough. He cast the beam around, searching for the the source of the sound.

He almost dropped his torch when he saw it.

“Henry!! Olivia!! I need some help down here!!” he shouted, already rushing over to the corner of the dank basement.

Cowering inside a tiny, tiny cage, half of his left ear missing and his ribs clearly visible through the taut, tanned skin of his torso, was a young neko. He had a scraggy mess of dirty brown hair and a tail to match, the fur covering the appendage and his ears looking mangey, with bare patches revealing nasty looking sores. His whole body was marred with fresh wounds and pink scars, mottled with dark bruises of varying colours.

The poor thing was wailing and yowling, his naked body shivering violently in the cold underground air. He was facing the wall and trying to turn to find the source of the noises, but the cage was so cramped that any movement was impossible.

“Shh, shh it’s okay,” Phil said as calmly as he could as he approached the cage, not wanting to spook the neko anymore, “We’re only here to help. We’ll get you out of here soon.”

Phil kept up the gentle reassurances while Henry and Olivia worked on getting the rusted lock off the cage, his heart breaking when the rattling bars caused the crying to rise an octave in fear.

Finally, the lock fell to floor with a loud clang and Phil practically ripped the door open. Hooking his hands under the neko’s arms, he gently pulled him out of the cage and watched his lanky limbs unfold. He’d really been crammed in there.

Sometimes, nekos had been so badly treated that they’d shriek and bite and scratch and do anything to get away from humans, too terrified by the abuse to realise that some humans weren’t going to hurt them. Others, however, reacted to the abuse and neglect by latching on to anything remotely kind in desperate hope that it would help them.

Thankfully, this one didn’t try to attack Phil and instead wrapped his skinny arms, legs and tail around Phil, letting out high pitched little whimpers and whines. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay now,” Phil cooed, holding the shaking creature securely against his front as he made his way back out of the barn.

Phil carried the neko over to the nekologist (a specialist doctor for nekos) they had on hand to work out what attention each neko needed, meeting her concerned gaze as she looked over the poor thing. She let Phil skip over the queue of other nekos waiting and gestured for him to place the brown haired neko on the examination table while she got a new pair of latex gloves on.

Phil went to put the boy on the table, only to have him squeal and cling on tighter to his  body, the scraggly brown tail wrapping itself firmly around Phil’s arm. “No!” he shouted, surprising Phil. Normally, recently rescued nekos were too scared and therefore animalistic to use actual words. They’d just default to wordless sounds.

“Hey hey, it’s okay,” Phil soothed, reaching up to scratch gently behind the ears, being careful to avoid the sores, “We’re just going to check you over to make sure you’re not hurt too badly.”  
“No!” the neko shouted again, not letting up on his grip at all.

Phil sighed and looked over doctor. “I’ll take him back with Jen in the van, he’s not going to let go any time soon. We can give him an exam back at the centre.”

“Fine, but I want him in the examination room ASAP when we get back.”

 

———————————

 

It took a great deal of effort to get the neko into the back of the van. He scratched at anyone other than Phil who tried to touch him and grabbed onto the sides of the van, holding on with an incredibly strong grip to try and stop Phil from pulling him inside.

Eventually, with a lot of reassurance and a fair amount of force, they managed to bundle Phil and the neko into the back of the van and get the doors closed. The wailing started almost instantly, the brown haired boy’s mouth wide open as he cried, showing off his pointed canines. The sound was shrill and loud, filing the small compartment and making Phil wince.

“Hey hey hey, calm down. Everything’s okay,” Phil said as loudly as he could without shouting, not wanting to spook the boy too much, “You don’t need to cry. You’re safe. I promise you’re safe.”

It took a lot - the drive back to the centre was a long one - but the bawling gradually settled down and, soon enough, the only remnants was the occasional sniffle or hiccup. Phil even managed to get a pair of boxers onto his skinny body.

“There, that’s better,” Phil cooed while he very carefully wiped the tears away from under the neko’s huge brown eyes, “Now, can you tell me if you have a name? It’d be nice to know what to call you.”

“D-D-D-Dan,” his voice was stuttered and small and shaky, but it was there and, for that, Phil was grateful. Nekos were delicate little things and some were damaged to the point they’d stop speaking altogether, “Th-Th-They called m-me D-an.”

 

————————————

 

It wasn’t long after revealing his name that Dan fell asleep, staying curled up against Phil as his breathing evened out and his trembling finally slowed. Phil was glad that Dan obviously trusted him, but it did make him worried just _how_ attached Dan seemed to be getting. How on earth would he react when Phil left him at the centre?

Phil shook that thought away for now, deciding to focus instead on the fact he’d have to get Dan to stay still on the bed while he was cleaned up and checked over.

Once the van pulled up to the centre, Phil gently woke Dan up, knowing it could panic him massively if he woke up in a completely new place. Then, with the sleepy neko cradled against his chest and holding on like a koala, Phil walked into the brightly lit entrance hall to the NSPN Centre of London.

He carried Dan through to the nekology wing, feeling him look around curiously at the at the rows of beds they were walking past. Nearly every one had a neko laying in it, each in varying stages of recovery. They weren’t all rescue nekos, the centre was the main nekology hospital for London so covered most of the city’s population of nekos. Some neko owners would just take their neko to a normal hospital or even a vet, but the NSPN wanted to encourage people to bring them to the specialist centre to make sure they had the proper care they needed.

Bringing Dan into one of the examination rooms, Phil greeted the nekologist, Ben, then began the arduous task of detaching Dan and putting him onto the bed.

After a great deal of shouting and crying and a promise to not let go of his hand, Phil finally got Dan to lay down. He squirmed and whimpered all the way through the examination, letting out a screech when Ben grabbed his tail to check over the sores, flicking it away and wrapping it tightly around Phil’s arm. It was obvious that his tail had taken quite a battering, so it was understandable that Dan didn’t trust strangers with it.

“Dan, calm down. It’s okay,” Phil repeated for the millionth time that night, looking into Dan’s eyes, which were open wide and flitting around the room in fear, “He’s just going to look at your tail and clean out the hurt bits. It’ll make it feel better, I promise.”

Dan looked at Phil for a long time before slowly uncurling his tail and moving it to lay in Ben’s hand. Phil gripped Dan’s hand tightly while his tail was disinfected and bandaged up, not being able to help but smile when he saw Dan’s confusion at the dressings.

“They keep the sores from getting dirty and help them heal faster,” Phil explained with a smile while Ben moved on to clean up his ears. It turned out that the fur was a few shades lighter than Phil originally thought once all the dirt and blood had been washed away.

“You might need to keep an eye on this. It looks clean at the moment but it could get infected easily and I can’t really put a dressing on it,” Ben said as he cleaned up the jagged edge from where the top of Dan’s ear had been torn away. It was taking a while to clean, mostly because Dan kept on twitching his ear away whenever the wipe pressed too hard. Dan didn’t look to happy about it either, but he clearly realised that it needed to be done; a great sign, which showed he was capable of rational reasoning.

Maybe he would be alright after all.

 

———————————–

 

Of course, things weren’t going to be that easy.

Dan was given the all clear by Ben, telling Phil that all he needed was a bit of feeding up so he wouldn’t need to stay on the ward. Ben helped Phil give Dan a bath - which was nothing short of terrifying when Dan started trying to bite Ben and hiss loudly after a bit of shampoo got into his ear - then let Phil take him off to get some food.

Dan was positively elated at the bowl of stew and potatoes Phil gave him, scoffing it down within a matter of seconds and grinning massively as he licked the gravy off his lips. Phil chuckled fondly at the behaviour, knowing he shouldn’t let himself get attached to Dan but not being able to help himself. He was just so adorable.

Everything was going well until it was time for Phil to go home. Dan was still insisting on being picked up and carried around by Phil, so Phil had Dan in his arms when he walked into the little bedroom that had been allocated for Dan. He’d stay here until he was healthy again and then he’d be moved to another room while he waited to be adopted. Phil would be sad to see Dan go, but the organisation couldn’t afford to look after nekos just because one of the workers had taken a particular fondness to them.

Phil felt Dan’s grip on him tighten when walked over to the comfortable looking bed, a little unhappy mewl reverberating from his throat.

“Dan, you have to stay here. I’ve got to go home now,” Phil sighed, trying to unlatch Dan’s arms from around his neck without much luck.

“No, stay,” Dan said firmly, his ears flattening against his head and his tail weaving it’s way around Phil’s leg.

“Dan, I can’t,” Phil said as firmly as he could, glancing down at Dan’s face and immediately regretting it. Those burnt umber eyes were be huge, looking at him pleadingly and shining with unshed tears. How on earth could he say no to that?

Phil let out a heavy breath and stopped trying to force Dan onto the bed, instead holding him more securely, then headed out of the room again. “Fine, I’ll see if I can take you home with me tonight. It’s not going to be permanent though, remember that.”

Dan let out a happy squeal before he cuddled into Phil, happy purrs sounding from deep inside his chest and making Phil’s heart warm.

 

———————————————

 

“And here’s my apartment,” Phil said with a smile, awkwardly pushing the door open around the neko still clinging to his torso, “It’s not very big, but it’s cosy.”

With Ben’s backup, Phil had managed to convince his boss to let him bring Dan home with him, persuading him that Dan would do better in a foster home than in the centre, getting Ben to vouch for how massively he’d benefit from having one-to-one care.

Dan’s ears perked up as they entered Phil’s flat, the uninjured one twisted and turning as his eyes flicked around curiously. He was still clinging onto Phil though, not quite brave enough yet to explore on his own.

Phil gave Dan a quick tour of the small flat, snickering when Dan let out an excited noise at the sight of Phil’s goldfish bowl. He really was an adorable little thing.

After the tour and a quick meal of pizza and chips (which Dan ate with just as much glee as his last meal), Dan was yawning widely and rubbing his eyes, his ears drooping slightly.

“You sleepy?” Phil sniggered, smiling fondly. Dan just got ten times more adorable when he was tired, “C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”

Dan mewled quietly and nodded, making grabby hands up at Phil and yawning massively again. Phil lifted Dan up and carried him to his bedroom, knowing it would be even more important for Dan to have company while he was asleep so he’d feel safe and secure.

Keeping a tender hold on Dan, Phil climbed into the bed and snuggled down. Dan was still in the comfortable clothes they’d dressed him in after his bath, ones which accommodated his tail easily, and Phil quickly slipped his clothes off until he was left in just his boxers.

“Comfortable?” Phil asked, getting a happy mumble in reply and assuming it was a yes. He felt Dan curl up, cuddling up to Phil and starting to purr. Dan fell asleep quickly, the smile still on his face, his purrs turning into little snores and his tail swishing contently.

Phil leant down and kissed the soft hair between Dan’s ears, feeling the neko rumble ever so slightly as he let out another purr.

Phil had done this, he’d taken Dan from that tiny cage and replaced the harsh metal bars for a warm bed and clean blankets, the empty stomach for proper care and the bruising hands of his former owners for a loving embrace.

Phil had made Dan purr and smile, made him feel safe enough to fall asleep easily in his arms, as if they’d known each other for a lifetime.

He’d saved Dan and made him feel safe and loved, and that was all Phil needed to be happy. To know he’d helped.

 


End file.
